Exclusive - Interview with Paula
Many of our readers have written in to
ask why we haven't heard from Paula yet.
Out To
Lunch sent a reporter round to
investigate...
OTL:
Paula, we hear frequently from Ian and
at least once a month from Zoe and Heidi: why haven't we heard from
you?
Paula: I'm not really on the trip: Ian Photoshops me into the pictures but I'm actually still in Somerset.
OTL: And seriously... ?
Paula: Ian's blogs are very good and I don't feel any need to add more. I read them before he publishes them and sometimes suggest a change or something else to include, so - at least to me - they seem to come from both of us.
OTL: Are the blogs a complete and accurate record of the trip? Would we get a different picture if you wrote them?
Paula: Everything in the blogs is accurate. I worry more about the domestic things than Ian does. I don't feel settled until I know how the washing will get done or where we can do the shopping (even when Ian actually does it). Ian doesn't care about these things the way that I do and doesn't write about them as I might.
OTL: What have been your highlights so far?
Paula: The game drives were excellent - much better than I expected. I thought that they'd be more staged and we'd be led on a set route around the watering holes. In fact, we really had the sense of just driving around where the animals lived more or less freely. In Fes I really truly felt that we experienced what it was like to live in the medina, which is what this year's about. The second day of the GR20 in Corsica when we got caught on the ridge in the hail storm was also very memorable, if not "enjoyable" like a normal holiday.
OTL: In the entries from Fes Ian was out and about in the medina every day while it seems that you were less comfortable: how was it there as a woman?
Paula: I was always aware that our family stood out. We were there for a long time and we weren't in the tourist groups - and we had two blonde girls. We were conspicuous and people in the medina soon began to recognise us. Whenever I walked around on my own every man said Hello to me. I know that they were being friendly but it wasn't as easy for me as it was for Ian. Also I had to cover up and it was extremely hot and humid all of the time. Inside the dar it was very comfortable, and we had a tremendous time; as I said before, I really began to feel that I started to learn what it would be like to live there, and it isn't the same as living in England.
OTL: Same question for Corsica: Ian went off walking with Zoe and you had to stay in the villa where you were ill. How was it?
Paula: I was ill but it only lasted a few days. I enjoyed being in Calvi with my Mum and Dad and Heidi. The only difficulty was that, as in Fes, it was hot and humid all the time, and with worse fans. But it was still a very relaxing time.
One of the great things about being away for so long and spending a month in each place is that you don't feel the same pressure in the way that you can on a normal holiday to squeeze the most out of every day. It doesn't matter if things don't go as planned or if you get a bit ill or if the weather isn't ideal - it's a whole year and we expect it.
OTL: Apart from your friends, what do you miss from home?
Paula: Nothing much. I miss our house and I miss being able to jump into my own car and drive anywhere but that's about it. Having said that, I do want to return home when our year is over. I haven't found anywhere else that I'd want to live and that's made me feel fonder of England.
OTL: What are you looking forward to when you return?
Paula: Routine. I like the structure of the day when the girls go to school in the morning and return home late in the afternoon, and Ian comes and goes from work, and I do the things I do in the day. We've tried to establish routines while we've been away but they're more provisional than the ones at home.
OTL: What are you especially looking forward to in the remainder of your travels?
Paula: We live each segment as it happens. Towards the end of each one I start to think about the next one but otherwise we're immersed in the one we're in. It's exciting that when each section is over we have a new adventure to look forward to rather than having to come home.
OTL: What has been hard for you since you've been away?
Paula: Not a lot. It's been great.
OTL: Has anything surprised you?
Paula: At home being able to control my own days and have time for myself is very important to me. I've been surprised how well I'm coping with being with the family all of the time. It could have been a big strain but instead it's been really nice!
OTL: Thanks, Paula, and the best of luck with the rest of your travels.
Paula: I'm not really on the trip: Ian Photoshops me into the pictures but I'm actually still in Somerset.
OTL: And seriously... ?
Paula: Ian's blogs are very good and I don't feel any need to add more. I read them before he publishes them and sometimes suggest a change or something else to include, so - at least to me - they seem to come from both of us.
OTL: Are the blogs a complete and accurate record of the trip? Would we get a different picture if you wrote them?
Paula: Everything in the blogs is accurate. I worry more about the domestic things than Ian does. I don't feel settled until I know how the washing will get done or where we can do the shopping (even when Ian actually does it). Ian doesn't care about these things the way that I do and doesn't write about them as I might.
OTL: What have been your highlights so far?
Paula: The game drives were excellent - much better than I expected. I thought that they'd be more staged and we'd be led on a set route around the watering holes. In fact, we really had the sense of just driving around where the animals lived more or less freely. In Fes I really truly felt that we experienced what it was like to live in the medina, which is what this year's about. The second day of the GR20 in Corsica when we got caught on the ridge in the hail storm was also very memorable, if not "enjoyable" like a normal holiday.
OTL: In the entries from Fes Ian was out and about in the medina every day while it seems that you were less comfortable: how was it there as a woman?
Paula: I was always aware that our family stood out. We were there for a long time and we weren't in the tourist groups - and we had two blonde girls. We were conspicuous and people in the medina soon began to recognise us. Whenever I walked around on my own every man said Hello to me. I know that they were being friendly but it wasn't as easy for me as it was for Ian. Also I had to cover up and it was extremely hot and humid all of the time. Inside the dar it was very comfortable, and we had a tremendous time; as I said before, I really began to feel that I started to learn what it would be like to live there, and it isn't the same as living in England.
OTL: Same question for Corsica: Ian went off walking with Zoe and you had to stay in the villa where you were ill. How was it?
Paula: I was ill but it only lasted a few days. I enjoyed being in Calvi with my Mum and Dad and Heidi. The only difficulty was that, as in Fes, it was hot and humid all the time, and with worse fans. But it was still a very relaxing time.
One of the great things about being away for so long and spending a month in each place is that you don't feel the same pressure in the way that you can on a normal holiday to squeeze the most out of every day. It doesn't matter if things don't go as planned or if you get a bit ill or if the weather isn't ideal - it's a whole year and we expect it.
OTL: Apart from your friends, what do you miss from home?
Paula: Nothing much. I miss our house and I miss being able to jump into my own car and drive anywhere but that's about it. Having said that, I do want to return home when our year is over. I haven't found anywhere else that I'd want to live and that's made me feel fonder of England.
OTL: What are you looking forward to when you return?
Paula: Routine. I like the structure of the day when the girls go to school in the morning and return home late in the afternoon, and Ian comes and goes from work, and I do the things I do in the day. We've tried to establish routines while we've been away but they're more provisional than the ones at home.
OTL: What are you especially looking forward to in the remainder of your travels?
Paula: We live each segment as it happens. Towards the end of each one I start to think about the next one but otherwise we're immersed in the one we're in. It's exciting that when each section is over we have a new adventure to look forward to rather than having to come home.
OTL: What has been hard for you since you've been away?
Paula: Not a lot. It's been great.
OTL: Has anything surprised you?
Paula: At home being able to control my own days and have time for myself is very important to me. I've been surprised how well I'm coping with being with the family all of the time. It could have been a big strain but instead it's been really nice!
OTL: Thanks, Paula, and the best of luck with the rest of your travels.
Posted: Thu - July 7, 2005 at 09:18 PM
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Published On: Jul 08, 2005 08:52 AM
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Published On: Jul 08, 2005 08:52 AM